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Since our ambient daytime temps in spring and fall are very cool (~50F) despite long solar periods and drop even more at night (often frosting), we found that the solar oven didn't quite have enough insulation to attain/retain enough heat for some things to cook properly we found that we often needed to transfer food to the wonder box to finish up. I'm sure that wouldn't be as much a factor in other locations, but something to keep in mind if you want to use the solar oven in the winter or on short/cloudy days in the L48.
Lots of people practice "Food Storage Fridays" where they cook & eat out of their pantry to become familiar with long-term storage foods and making meals without fresh ingredients... going one step farther and cooking those meals with your alternate methods will also help you become familiar with it's usage and quirks. Grilling all the meat that's thawing in the freezer during an extended power failure is only the tip of the iceberg
Another thing to consider is your cookware. I know, that sounds stupid, but a lot of your familiar cookware will not be appropriate with alternate cooking methods. For instance, cooking on an open fire, BBQ grill or woodstove is really hard on aluminum and thin steel since the intensity and high heats can melt, warp or otherwise damage it. Some non-stick coatings, glass polymers and ceramics cannot withstand high heats and/or extended direct flame. If you don't currently cook with your cast iron, it can be a pretty steep learning curve, and the proper care & handling is totally different than aluminum & steel.
I've owned a Global Sun Oven for several years and I use it during the summers here when I want to bake or roast without heating up the cabin. It works beautifully. Bread is actually better in it then in a regular oven.
It doesn't take very long for it to heat to 350-375 but you do have to be around to move it as the sun changes position.
Woodfired earth/brick ovens are awesome and very fuel efficient once you get used to them. Start out ultra-hot for pizzas and keep on cooking different things (bread, pie, roast, stew) as the temps drop. Then when it's too cool to really cook anything (but still warm) you can use it to dehydrate things or just dry out tomorrow's batch of wood
The only caveat for an outdoor oven, if you live in the far north, is that you need extra insulation and to fire it up slowly in the winter. If the insulation isn't thick enough you won't be able to get or keep it hot enough to cook anything when it's -40F outside; and if you fire up a full blaze when it's that cold it'll crack/explode from the thermal shock. The extra insulation also helps it cool down slower so you do don't get thermal shock during cooldown either.
I've owned a Global Sun Oven for several years and I use it during the summers here when I want to bake or roast without heating up the cabin. It works beautifully. Bread is actually better in it then in a regular oven.
It doesn't take very long for it to heat to 350-375 but you do have to be around to move it as the sun changes position.
Out of curiosity, what is the highest constant temperature you've been able to maintain for at least 2 hours in your solar oven? Do you use an regular oven thermometer in the solar oven to verify your coking temps?
Since our ambient daytime temps in spring and fall are very cool (~50F) despite long solar periods and drop even more at night (often frosting), we found that the solar oven didn't quite have enough insulation to attain/retain enough heat for some things to cook properly we found that we often needed to transfer food to the wonder box to finish up.
Quite true. Our reasoning is that, if the solar oven can save us from using fuel even 1/2 of the year, it will still be a worthwhile savings. When I think of all the cordwood and propane we could save in just the warmer months, I'll be glad I ordered one! It is recommended that dark roasting pans such as Graniteware be used in the solar cooker for added heat absorption; we have used these for many years in our regular oven, and are familiar with them. Ditto with the newer dark bakeware (muffin pans, cake pans, etc) that we'd use for baking. The solar over is supposed to not burn or scorch anything, due to lack of hot spots. Once we get one, we'll try it out as both a baking oven and as a slow-cooker, then report our results, as I have already with the Kelly Kettle.
Out of curiosity, what is the highest constant temperature you've been able to maintain for at least 2 hours in your solar oven? Do you use an regular oven thermometer in the solar oven to verify your coking temps?
Thanks.
The Global solar oven (other brands may vary) can reach 400F and will maintain it, in good sunlight, as long as you turn the oven with the moving sun, every half hour or so. You don't need to use an oven thermometer in this model as there is one built right in on the glass surface. If you wish to, you can use another as well, that you trust for accuracy.
Dark-colored cookware definitely work best in the solar ovens (although shiny silver has it's used for crisping). I also use a black enameled baking stone and cast iron, putting them in and allowing them to preheat during the warm-up before transferring the food in. Those really help with thermal mass and I can normally get an extra 10-15 degrees in the oven that way.
MOgal - the highest constant temp I've gotten out of my unmodified solar oven without doing anything special, was 410F for 3 hours (used a standard oven thermometer and an instant-ready laser thermometer to verify). Of course, that was 11a-1p during the hottest day of summer (around 88F that day) and it was left out overnight since the sun doesn't really set so it had at least 6 hours of full sun to heat it up beforehand.
However, when I preheated my black stone in the oven, put an additional 3" foam board shell around it, replaced the flat glass with a parabolic focused concentrator, and added a larger reflector screen on it... I got that sucker up to 475F under the same conditions Not quite enough for proper pizza or crusty bread, but certainly enough for a soft-crust bread.
I've wanted a rocket stove for sometime, since I saw one demonstrated and realized they heat with just twigs and small pieces of wood. This weekend I attended our local gun show and found a booth operated by a couple of guys from Northern California, who were selling all kinds of survival goods, food, water filters, fire starters, and rocket stoves. They had two different EcoZoom stoves for display, and they left with one less. I tried it out this morning and was very impressed, this thing is really well made and uses red clay for an insulator around the fire pot. It was easy to light, made a very hot fire and would have worked well for cooking. The price was $119, and there is no sales tax here...
One of our neighbors made a DIY rocket stove. He originally intended it for cooking and space heating, but it was too big and so powerful that he ended up using it as a backyard blacksmith forge for softer metals and a pottery kiln for clay earthenware. Over 1000F from some used oil, sticks and sawdust -- holey moley!
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Not quite enough for proper pizza or crusty bread, but certainly enough for a soft-crust bread.
